Table of contents for Vol. 118, No. 21, 7/1/22 in Booklist

Philosophy & Psychology The 12-Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life. By Colin O’Brady. Aug. 2022. 256p. Scribner, $26.99 (9781982133160). 158. Adventurer and motivational speaker O’Brady (The Impossible First, 2020) offers an intriguing method for climbing your Everest. Feeling lackluster and unmotivated during the pandemic, O’Brady walked out his door and didn’t return for 12 hours. Unplugged from modern distractions, he discovered the walk was a great way to “conquer your mind, and unlock your best life” in one day. It is an achievable goal with immediate outcomes that he is determined to help other people complete. O’Brady starts each chapter with a limiting belief such as “what if I fail” or “I don’t have enough time/money” and then uses a personal story to…

These outstanding books, reviewed in Booklist from July 2021 through June 2022, will spark discussions on family, identity, history, and the unique sensory abilities of the platypus. —Susan Maguire Fiction Black Cake. By Charmaine Wilkerson. 2022. Ballantine, $28 (9780593358337). A complex plot unfolds in vignettes in this beautifully poignant debut novel about a final bequest that upends everything an estranged brother and sister thought they knew about their family and themselves. The Immortal King Rao. By Vauhini Vara. 2022. Norton, $27.95 (9780393541755). Born into the lowest caste tier in India, a tech billionaire develops controversial creations while his teenage daughter breaks free from his hold, only to face the feudalistic society that he has helped shape. Peach Blossom Spring. By Melissa Fu. 2022. Little, Brown, $28 (9780316286732). Following three generations…

These top 10 graphic novels for children, reviewed between February 1, 2021, and June 1, 2022, highlight a more serious brand of middle-grade fantasy, with high emotional stakes. —Ronny Khuri Borders. By Thomas King. Art by Natasha Donovan. 2021. Little, Brown, $24.99 (9780316593069). Gr. 5–8. A trip over the U.S.–Canadian border turns absurd when a Blackfoot tween and his mother find themselves in bureaucratic limbo. Subtle and smart, this laconic graphic novel will linger with readers. The Flower Garden. By Renée Kurilla. Art by the author. 2022. Abrams/Amulet, $12.99 (9781419750205). K–Gr. 3. Anna and Tess wake up in a lush garden, but they can’t agree on how adventurous to be. Various underground settings are full of fun and humorous details that reward readers with found treasure. The Girl and the…

Older Readers Dealing with Stress: Insights and Tips for Teenagers. By Christie Cognevich. July 2022. 182p. illus. Rowman & Littlefield, paper, $28 (9781538152850); e-book, $26.50 (9781538152867). Gr. 8–11. 158.7. This helpful entry in the Empowering You series discusses all aspects of stress and provides resources and suggestions for how teens and college-age students can cope with it. Cognevich explains how stress impacts adolescents differently from adults and provides examples of chronic stress, social anxiety, and fear. She discusses fight-or-flight responses and the difference between aggression and anger and offers self-care tips, including cultivating gratitude and giving it to others. Mental-health hotlines and resources are provided throughout the text. Cognevich, who has moderate hearing loss, admits to finding teaching online during the pandemic stressful, which lends authenticity to her coping advice.…

Two short-story collections from best-selling authors, new installments in beloved series, and a picture book from a gold-medal author-illustrator are just a handful of what you’ll find in this list of books we’re eager to get our hands on. —Sarah Hunter Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade. By Nancy Springer. St. Martin’s/Wednesday, $18.99 (9781250822970). Gr. 8–12. Sept. The Netflix series gave a boost to Springer’s novels about Sherlock Holmes’ equally inquisitive sister, and with a second season in the works, anticipation for this new installment should be high. Farmhouse. By Sophie Blackall. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown, $18.99 (9780316528948). PreS–Gr. 3. Sept. Caldecott medalist Blackall’s moving ode to a ruined farmhouse imagines the family inside, while her delicate, intricate artwork—composed of remnants of the actual building—reveals delightful details. Foul…

Memoirs from those in the entertainment world seem to dominate this month’s Hot List, but keep an eye out for the big novels here as well. —Susan Maguire Desert Star. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown, $29 (9780316485654). Nov. Renée Ballard is back with the LAPD, and she has a deal for Harry Bosch: work with her new Open-Unsolved Unit, and she’ll help him catch the killer who haunts him, a madman who murdered an entire family. Drunk on Love. By Jasmine Guillory. Berkley, $17 (9780593100882). Sept. A stressed winery owner has a blazing-hot one-night stand, only to find her paramour is her new employee, a tech-industry dropout trying to find himself in Napa. Dying of Politeness. By Geena Davis. HarperOne, $28.99 (9780063119130). Oct. Davis has played everything from a feminist…

The dynamic variety of these 10 titles, reviewed between July 2021 and June 2022, demonstrates not only the quality of the current graphic-novel landscape but the breadth of stories available to readers. —Sarah Hunter Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands. By Kate Beaton. Art by the author. 2022. Drawn & Quarterly, $39.95 (9781770462892). This lucid, vulnerable, and perfectly balanced graphic memoir about Beaton’s short stint working in the Alberta oil sands weaves sharp moments of humor with a masterfully captured feeling of homesickness. Dying for Attention: A Graphic Memoir of Nursing Home Care. By Susan MacLeod. Art by the author. 2021. Conundrum, $20 (9781772620610). Illustrated in an approachable, black-and-white line drawing style, this is at once a heartfelt exploration of aging and family trauma and a scathing critique of…

The teen nonfiction section of a library is often one of the leanest sections, but it is not devoid of opportunities to engage readers of all ages in learning about a moment in history, bringing that moment to life, and providing tangible outcomes of discussion. Whether you’re working to interest a teenager who doesn’t bite at the average book club, collaborating with a classroom teacher on a curriculum tie-in, or working with a readership ranging in age from 15 to 75, I implore you to consider using a topical young adult nonfiction title to bring history off the page. Though young adult nonfiction often gets a bad rap for being “less dense” or “less academic” than adult nonfiction, those very criticisms make it the ideal entry into a moment of…

General Fiction All This Could Be Different. By Sarah Thankam Mathews. Aug. 2022. 320p. Viking, $27 (9780593489123). Sneha, narrator of Mathews’ polished debut, just graduated college and landed in Milwaukee, “a rusted city where I had nobody, parents two oceans away.” Between long days working her consulting job in change management (“I should have majored in Microsoft Excel”), Sneha amasses fine furniture for her paid-for apartment (negotiated into her contract), surfs the apps, and finds herself in a family of friends, who are a band of warm secondary characters, especially the inimitable Tig. As to her family of origin and the oceans now separating them, there was American-Dream success before there was a complete undoing, before Sneha’s parents did not refuse the money she wired home to India. The distance…

The contemporary library can seem like an institution that entertains school groups and fascinates children with storytelling. It’s also expected to provide a DVD collection and free internet. This is an evolution of the traditional library role, but its essential capacity is much greater than these enjoyable and technological functions. The most compelling changes I’ve seen are in the library’s most vulnerable users, those of us at the very bottom of the socioeconomic barrel. The library is where even the convicted and incarcerated find the means to change. I witnessed the evolution, both working behind the desks of four jailhouse libraries and as a grateful patron of libraries in all of the 12 New York state prisons in which I was held during my 10 years inside. At the age…

Adult Agent of Exiles: The League of Set. By Tom Doyle. Read by a full cast. Aug. 2022. 6hrs. GraphicAudio, DD (9781685081980). In Agent of Exiles, Doyle launches a new historical spy series for GraphicAudio set in the ancient world. Samuel ben Yohanan is a secret agent working for the Judean Court in Exile in Babylon before a disagreement sees him setting off on his own. After assisting Cyrus the Great, Samuel is partnered with Mehrnaz of the Flame, a magi in King Cyrus’s court. Sent to Egypt to investigate rumors of powerful, ancient artifacts, the unlikely pair initially spend most of their time engaging in verbal sparring, which is delivered in sharp bursts by the actors in contrast to the more considered dialogues once they begin to trust each…

Older Readers Beasts of Ruin. By Ayana Gray. July 2022. 496p. Putnam, $18.99 (9780593405710). Gr. 9–12. Gray returns to her captivating world of beasts, secrets, and vengeful gods in this follow-up to Beast of Prey (2021). After the revelations of the first novel, Koffi and Ekon separately set out on a journey to uncover new secrets. Along the way, they learn more about the discrimination against the magic users known as the daraja, and Koffi bonds with other magic users to discover her own magical abilities. This installment boasts a more expansive world with the inclusion of magical creatures and insights into the land’s history. Readers who easily lost themselves in Koffi and Ekon’s story will devour their continued journey, particularly Gray’s attention to world building. She adds depth to…

Adult Book Lovers. By Emily Henry. Read by Julia Whelan. 2022. 11.5hrs. Books on Tape, DD (9780593553770). In the world of romance tropes, literary agent Nora Stephens plays the uptight city girlfriend who gets dumped when her boyfriend finds a new love in small-town America. Nora is determined never to risk her heart again. As a favor to her pregnant and worn-out sister Libby, Nora agrees to spend a month in Sunshine Falls, NC, to give Libby a much-needed break before her baby is due and refresh their fading relationship. Libby has also prepared a to-do list for Nora that includes a small-town date, skinny dipping, and saving a struggling town business. Sunshine Falls, however, is home to Charlie Lastra, a New York City editor with whom Nora has had…

We don’t actually know if the movie and TV series adaptations fail to do justice to these novels and works of nonfiction because they haven’t been released yet. But even if they are splendid, the books deserve to be read. So here’s the lowdown on titles to read before or in sync with forthcoming reimaginings for the screen, large and small. Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy. By Damien Lewis. 2022. PublicAffairs, $32 (9781541700666). Legendary expat African American entertainer Josephine Baker’s greatest role was that of an agent for the French Resistance. Read this superb biography before watching the miniseries starring Janelle Monáe. Bad Monkey. By Carl Hiaasen. 2013. Grand Central, $14.99 (9780446556149). Vince Vaughn will star in the TV series as detective-turned-restaurant-inspector Andrew Yancy in this hilariously…